Whumptober 2019- Bleeding Out
by Frankie McStein
Summary: It had been hours since she had been taken. And now she was on the phone and telling them she was bleeding, that she was scared. They needed to find her. Soon.


It had been roughly six hours and twenty-seven minutes since Higgins had left Robin's Nest to take care of various errands. There were deliveries to be arranged for the party next week and some sort of problem at the hangar had required her to attend in person.

It had been approximately five hours and fourteen minutes since she had walked into the Oahu branch of the Bank of Hawaii, Robin Masters' bank of choice and, so, Higgins' too. There was paperwork to be filed and her signature was required on a few things. It had been exactly five hours since a four-person gang had executed a well-coordinated raid on the Bank of Hawaii. They had burst in, ordered everyone to get down on the ground, snatched a hostage… and then left. They were in and out in less than a minute.

Everyone had been confused. No money had been taken, the safety deposit boxes hadn't been opened, the vault was still locked. It wasn't until the security footage revealed the identity of the woman who had been taken that things started to make sense.

It had been less than four hours since Magnum had received a phone call from Katsumoto telling him about the kidnapping. Less than four hours since Rick and T.C had watched with worry as their friend's face had flushed with anger even as his eyes widened with worry. Less than four hours since news had broken on media websites that Juliet Higgins, employee of local celebrity Robin Masters, had been pistol-whipped and dragged into a black panel van.

The three men were in Rick's Porsche and heading to the police station before Katsumoto had finished asking them to come down.

"Why would someone dress up a kidnapping to look like an attempted bank robbery? I mean, why not just grab her off the street?" Rick, relegated to his own backseat, was leaning forward, so Katsumoto, on speaker on Magnum's cell, could hear him.

"_To confuse us and gain time to get away,"_ Katsumoto answered. "_We think Higgins' job might have something to do with it."_ At the silence that met his statement, he went on. "_Her previous job. One of the kidnappers took off his mask right before they pulled the side door closed, and his face flagged up all kinds of alerts on the system. It looks like he currently works as a mercenary. But, before he went freelance, he worked for military intelligence."_

The conversation ended quickly; Katsumoto seemed to be skirting around the edges of something, his replies to their requests for more information hesitant. "_Just get down here, Magnum. We're hoping you can help."_

If the drive that should have taken nearly half an hour only took fifteen minutes, no one commented on it. If the space the Porsche was left in was reserved for reporters, no one brought it up. And if, after seeing the photos of Higgins' abductor sitting at a table with Hannah, his dead ex-girlfriend, Magnum snapped the pen he'd been fiddling with, no one ever mentioned it.

...

Hours later, the table in the conference room, where Katsumoto had taken the three men, was littered with empty coffee cups and crumpled pieces of paper. All three had made lists of people they knew Hannah had worked with, people they thought she might have worked with, and people they thought might have been willing to work with her. Katsumoto had ordered every name be followed up on, regardless of security issues or complaints from the military. He had argued with the governor that Robin Masters' celebrity status was important to the islands, that the inability of the HPD to recover one of his favorite employees might well make him mothball his Oahu estate, and had received a promise of political assistance.

And then a call came in, Magnum's cell ringing loudly with 'Unknown Number' flashing up on the screen. He waited, tense, while Katsumoto's men raced to do whatever it was they needed to do to track the incoming call.

"Thomas Magnum." He waited a second or two but there was nothing but silence. "Hello? Who is this?"

_"Magnum?"_ Higgins sounded tired, like just saying his name was too much of an effort.

"Higgins? What happened? Where are you?"

_"I… I don't know. They said… to give you a message. This… for... for Hannah." _

"They took you to get revenge on me for Hannah's death?" Magnum was fighting to keep his voice steady, anger burning in his eyes and something that looked a lot like fear on his face.

_"It hurts," _she whimpered, the sound heartbreaking. Higgins was always so strong, it wasn't right coming from her. _"There's so... much… so much blood."_

"Blood? Higgins, whose blood is it?" Katsumoto was all business, waving at some people, pointing at others. It was clear he was hoping for a trace on the call.

_"Mine."_ They'd all been expecting the answer, but they still all felt a shock of fear run through them. _"I… can't… can't stop it."_

There was a heavy silence; no one wanted her to feel like she was alone, but no one knew what to say.

"Where are you, Higgins?" Katsumoto's voice was softer this time, like he was dealing with a scared witness. "Look around, tell me what you see."

The only answer was a gasp, a shaky, shallow inhale. _"Thomas?"_

"I'm here, Juliet. We're all right here with you." Magnum's voice was low but thick with emotion he wasn't sure he could identify.

"_Hey... it's my boys."_ Her voice was quiet, the words slurred slightly, and they all winced at how impossibly worse she already sounded.

"How you doing, Higgy Baby?" T.C managed to sound calm, like he was having a casual conversation, but his face showed the strain.

"_I'm... quite scared, actually," _and, even though there was the hint of a laugh behind the words, they could hear tears in her voice that she was too tired to hide. "_I'm glad you're… you're all there."_

"There's nowhere else we'd be right now," Rick said, not managing to keep his voice as steady as T.C had. "Unless you can tell us where to come pick you up."

Every person in the room stopped what they were doing and strained to listen, every one of them hoping the next words they heard would be some sort of clue. The silence dragged on, the ticking of wristwatches the only sound. The three men exchanged a worried look at the lack of response.

"Higgy?" Magnum called, leaning closer to the microphone. "You still with us, girl?"

"_I'm so cold."_ Her voice was barely a whisper, her breathing ragged. "_I haven't… haven't been cold here. 'Cept for… for that atoll."_

Magnum couldn't hide his reaction; being reminded of a time that he had managed to save her while he was listening to her die was like a body blow. He jerked back from the table, his breath escaping in a huff. Rick and T.C both reached out an arm to grab his shoulders, trying to offer comfort and support.

_"'S pretty."_ The words almost didn't register.

It was Katsumoto who replied. "What's pretty?" He kept his voice quiet, trying to inject a note of encouragement.

_"The flower."_ It almost sounded like she was smiling. _"Lotus, 's… so green." _

And then they couldn't get her to respond.

...

Katsumoto had remembered an import/export company with a warehouse on the docks that had been sitting in escrow since the owners filed for divorce a few months previously.

"Their logo was a dark green lotus flower," he'd said, waiting for his team to find information on the property. As soon as they'd found the building was still empty, all four men had taken off at a run, Katsumoto shouting for someone to arrange for an ambulance to meet them.

The four of them had leaped into the Porsche, Rick and Katsumoto ignoring the way the small back seat cramped their muscles, each thinking the same thing: 'Higgy needs us there fast.' And the sportscar was designed for speed.

Magnum had no idea what the speed limit was or how fast he was actually going. All he knew was that he was pushing the car as fast as he dared, telling himself they couldn't help Higgins if he crashed, and fighting the feeling that they were going to be too late, that he was going too slowly.

Rick had grabbed the cell as they'd sprinted from the conference room, and he, T.C., and Katsumoto were still trying to get Higgins to say something. Magnum gritted his teeth and focused on driving, pushing his foot down a little harder as they got closer to the docks and traffic thinned out.

"There! Left, Magnum!" Katsumoto's shout was nearly too late; the tires screamed as Magnum yanked the wheel to the side and threw the car into a barely controlled skid to make the corner.

They all pulled their guns as they climbed out of the car. Katsumoto raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything; he just stepped in front of Magnum, silently insisting he would take the lead. The other men, soldiers' instincts still strong, each gave a quick nod and fell into formation behind him.

They moved like they had rehearsed it, clearing the open storage area quickly and heading for the stairs. There were two flights, one at each end of the warehouse, and they split into pairs without a second's hesitation. Rick and T.C. headed left, Magnum and Katsumoto went right, and they started up toward the offices at the same time.

Magnum and Katsumoto had checked four rooms when a yell rang out, bouncing off the high walls. The echoes died away and were replaced by a siren. Once again, no discussion was needed; Katsumoto took off back down the stairs to lead the EMTs, and Magnum fairly flew to the office his friends were in.

He froze in the doorway. So much blood. There was so much blood. His mind stopped working. Rick was kneeling by Higgins, and Magnum could see the way his weight on the saturated carpet was forcing the blood to well up around his knees. T.C. was saying something and waving his hands over the railing. There were footsteps getting closer and voices getting louder. But all Magnum could think was that there was no way someone could have lost so much blood and still be alive.

'I was right,' he thought in a dazed sort of way. 'We were too slow.'

...

The heart monitor was the only thing stopping them all from going crazy. Usually the monotonous beeping was enough to make them want to leave the room, to talk too loudly, just to escape it. It was a reminder that whoever was in the hospital bed was too weak to wake up. But this time, it was telling them Higgins was still alive. Every toneless beep was a reminder that their Higgy was hanging on, fighting to come back to them.

Her heart had stopped in the ambulance, her blood pressure bottoming out and her body simply incapable of going on. When they got to the hospital, the EMTs had run so quickly with the gurney the four men following had been left behind. They had sat, Rick and his blood-soaked jeans and hands getting horrified looks, for what felt like hours. When the doctor finally came out to tell them she was weak but stable, their gasps of relief had rung in the ears of the other people in the waiting room.

The doctor had explained that Higgins' system had been flooded with warfarin, an anticoagulant. That they hadn't spotted it at first and nearly lost her again. That they had given her a massive dose of vitamin K to counteract it and finally started to see an improvement.

And now the three of them were in her room- Katsumoto had headed back to the station after being promised he would be called as soon as there was any change- where every minute the monitor beeped was cause for celebration. When she first shifted her head, they thought she was just getting comfortable, her subconscious responding to some aching muscle.

"Hey." It was so quiet, but they all heard it and looked to see her awake and looking over at them. Her eyes were only half-open, but there was a small smile on her face. "Fancy seeing you all here."

It wasn't that funny, but they all laughed, relief making them almost giddy. They were kicked out when the doctor came hurrying in and took advantage to give Katsumoto a call.

"Five-0 thinks they've got the guy; they're scrambling now. I'll keep you informed." More good news, and they couldn't wait to tell Higgins the guys who had done this to her were going to pay.

The doctor grinned at them as she left Higgins' room. "Your friend is one lucky lady. She should be just fine." She smiled again at their thanks before heading off to her next patient, and they all piled back into Higgins' room.

She was still lying flat, the doctor having nixed the idea of her sitting up just yet, but already looked more awake than she had.

Magnum put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently, trying to tell her how worried he'd been, how relieved he was, without having to say the words. From the slow blink and gentle smile she offered, she got it.

"Katsumoto just told us Five-0 are going after the guys who did this." T.C. kept his voice low, but the glee was there for all to hear.

Higgins smiled again at the thought of Commander McGarrett, famous for his less-than-legally-accepted methods, going after her attackers.

"Serves them right," she said with a sort of vicious joy in her tone. She looked to Magnum. "The big one, the one in charge? He said they were doing it for Hannah. He said you took her from them so the were going to take me from you." She looked a little lost, the energy from the previous statement already flagging.

Magnum moved his hand from her shoulder to her arm and patted it gently. "So they gave you the phone so I would have to listen to you die?" He said it quickly, casually, refusing to focus on how very close he had come to losing her. He quirked an eyebrow when she smirked and gave her head a small shake.

"When they dragged me out of the van I headbutted the one pulling me and took off." Her hand moved almost absently to the bruises on her throat. "They didn't like that. But it gave me enough cover to lift one of their phones. Of course, they tied me up, and I couldn't get it out of my boot until I got my hands free."

The looks the three men exchanged were almost incredulous, and Rick laughed.

"You faked an escape attempt so you could pick someone's pocket?"

She huffed her amusement, too tired to laugh outright, but the smile was firmly in place.

At least, it was until T.C. asked, "Why didn't you dial nine-one-one?"

They looked expectantly at her, waiting for her to explain her reasoning, sure it would be logical and sound.

Instead, she looked away from them all and bit her lip. "I umm… I wasn't thinking straight. I just wanted to talk to you all. I felt so alone." The admission seemed to cost her; she was never comfortable expressing her softer emotions.

But the faces of the three men surrounding her bed softened in response. Magnum's fingers wrapped around her wrist, T.C. covered her other hand with his, and Rick put a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll always be there when you need us, Higgy Baby." Magnum and Rick nodded their agreement with T.C.'s words, and they were treated to one more smile before Higgins' eyes slipped closed again and she suddenly fell fast asleep.


End file.
